Samuel Jason Fell (born 22 November 1965) is a British animator, director, screenwriter and voice actor. Sam started his career as director on the short film The Big Cheese for 3 Peach Animation. He then joined Aardman Animations and worked on projects like Pop, Peter Lord's Oscar-nominated short film Wat's Pig, as well as Rex the Runt, before directing the 2002 project Chump. He also developed a children's TV series called Rabbits!. In 2001, he came up with the story of Flushed Away which he developed through 2002. From 2003, he went on to direct (with David Bowers) the film for Aardman. He also provided the voices for the characters Liam, The Prophet, Ladykiller and Fanseller. From 2008, he went on to direct The Tale of Despereaux for Universal Studios, and also provided the voices of the characters Ned and Smudge. Fell co-directed Laika's ParaNorman, with Chris Butler, which was released in the United States in August 2012.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 22, 1965 (60)
- Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England, UK
- Director, producer and writer
- 4 on MovieCove · 8 credits in all
What are Sam Fell's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 4 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
Grounded 0 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 1
Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1
Casual 3 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 0
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Sam Fell's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 4 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Sam Fell's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
8 credits, 4 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
ParaNorman(2012)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
The Tale of Despereaux(2008)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Flushed Away(2006)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Rex the Runt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Pop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Wat's Pig (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
The Big Cheese (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Career shape
A full career of 8 titles from 1992 to 2023.
Biggest box office
Flushed Away (2006)
Highest rated
ParaNorman (2012)
Most popular right now
Flushed Away (2006)
Film career
- 2006Screen debut· Flushed Away
- 2006BAFTA Award nomination· Flushed Away
Awards
4 major nominations and no wins, 2007–2024.
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Animated Feature Film
- Oscar, nominated · Best Animated Feature
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Animated Film
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Animated Feature Film
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Sam Fell's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 62nd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 4 titles divides audiences: 3 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 72/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Sam Fell's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Sam Fell work with?
People who share at least 2 of Sam Fell's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; David Bowers shares the most, 2.
Writers
- David BowersShared titles: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023), Flushed Away (2006)See all 2 shared titles with David Bowers
Composers and cinematographers
- Harry Gregson-WilliamsShared titles: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023), Flushed Away (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Harry Gregson-Williams
- Brad BlackbournShared titles: The Tale of Despereaux (2008), Flushed Away (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Brad Blackbourn
Producers
- David SproxtonShared titles: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023), Flushed Away (2006)See all 2 shared titles with David Sproxton
- Peter LordShared titles: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023), Flushed Away (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Lord
- Steve PegramShared titles: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023), Flushed Away (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Steve Pegram
